Companies

Coltejer to Abandon Giant Medellin-Metro Factory, Shift Remaining Operations to Rionegro

Medellin Herald December 18, 2020

Medellin-based textile giant Coltejer revealed in a December 17 filing with Colombia’s Superfinanciera oversight agency that it now plans to abandon its foundational factory in the southern Medellin suburb of Itagüí. When this abandonment is complete, all remaining textile operations will shift

Companies

AngloGold Ashanti Updates ‘Quebradona’ Mine Environmental Impact Assessment; Aims to Recycle Tailings for Roads, Buildings

Medellin Herald December 16, 2020

Global mining giant AngloGold Ashanti Colombia announced December 16 that it has launched initial recycling of mine tailings near Jericó, southwest Antioquia, into a cement-like product suitable for buildings, prefab homes, roads, ceramics, paints, outdoor furniture and soil amendments. The announcement comes on the heels of new demands from Colombia’s environmental

General News

Medellin Discovers Nine More Bird Species Here During 2020

Medellin Herald December 14, 2020

Medellin’s Environment Secretary Diana María Montoya Velilla announced December 12 the first-ever confirmed sighting of a Southern Beardless Tyrannulet (Camptostoma obsoletum, see photo, above), making it the ninth recording of previously unrecorded bird species here this year. The bird, locally known as “mosquerito silbón,” was sighted in the Cerro Nutibara park, not far

Editorial

‘Colombia El Pais de Los Extremos’ Helps Explain Antioquia’s Domination of Business, Industry, Entrepreneurship, Self-Reliance — Nationally and Internationally

Medellin Herald December 7, 2020

“Colombia El Pais de los Extremos” (Colombia the Nation of Extremes) is Ecuadorian diplomat-scholar Eduardo Durán-Cousín’s new, 783-pages-long history and analysis of more than 500 years of Colombia’s cultural, social, economic and political triumphs and tragedies. For any foreigner sufficiently fluent in Spanish and trying to understand why Colombia in several key ways is

Companies

Colombia’s Comptroller-General Blames Hidroituango Contractors, Former Officials, Politicians for US$1.18-Billion in Losses at Hidroituango Project

Medellin Herald December 3, 2020

Colombia’s Comptroller-General (Contraloria General de la Republica, CGR) Carlos Felipe Córdoba on December 3 announced long-expected mismanagement charges against 28 individuals and companies including contractors, former EPM board members, former Medellin Mayors and former Antioquia Governors for actions and omissions that contributed US$1.18 billion in losses at the

Editorial

Crucial Investor Lessons From Colombia’s Gigantic ‘Buritica’ Gold-Mining Project: CGS Director

Medellin Herald December 1, 2020

Editor’s Note: The annual Colombia Gold Symposium (CGS) conference here in Medellin — organized by CGS director, veteran mining journalist and British expat Paul Harris — brings together leading international and domestic mining companies, consultants and government regulators, to explore the challenges and opportunities of gold mining here in Antioquia

Other Norms

Colombia Won’t Immediately Reinstate PCR Test Mandate for Airline Travelers to Colombia: Health Minister

Medellin Herald December 1, 2020

Colombia’s Health Minister Fernando Ruiz announced December 1 that international air travelers to Colombia won’t have to pass a pre-flight PCR test for Covid-19 — nor spend 14 days in automatic quarantine here — despite a recent Bogota District Court order. “Travelers entering the country will not have to undergo the PCR test for Covid-19 […]

Infrastructure

Medellin’s Avenida 80 Light-Rail Wins Finance, Completion Seen by 2026

Medellin Herald December 1, 2020

Colombia President Ivan Duque, Medellin Mayor Daniel Quintero and Antioquia Governor Aníbal Gaviria on November 30 joined in Bogota at an official signing ceremony guaranteeing finance for Medellin’s newest mass-transit project: the COP$3.54 trillion (US$991 million) Avenida 80 light-rail system. Under the deal, the Colombian government will contribute COP$2.4 trillion

Health & Insurance.

Health Institute Study Indicates 27% of Medellin Residents Already Infected with Covid-19

Medellin Herald November 27, 2020

Colombia’s National Health Institute (INS in Spanish initials) director Martha Ospina announced November 26 that a seroprevalence study of a statistically representative sample of Medellin residents indicates that 27% of people here likely have already been infected with Covid-19 — and hence show antibodies in their bloodstreams. While that 27% figure suggests that

Other Norms

Colombia President Extends Covid-19 Emergency Regulations through February 2021: Free Vaccinations Start in 2021

Medellin Herald November 26, 2020

Colombia President Ivan Duque announced last night (November 25) that the current national regulations aiming to limit Covid-19 infections here will continue through at least February 28, 2021. The regulations include mandatory mask wearing, social distancing and strict health protocols at all businesses, agencies, in public transport and in public spaces. While citizens